Zuiderdam stability compare to other ships

[Sailingpeace]

Just got off ( yesterday) from Zuiderdam. Wonderful cruise ! First cruise on the Z and first aft facing cabin. On a few night the noise , vibration and shaking woke us up. We usually book mid or mid aft but often spend days on top deck all the way front. We have sailed the Carribean many times. I know it is impossible to really compare because so many factors are to be considered ( type of waves, current, wind, ship direction to name a few). Someone from told us it had nothing to do with the aft cabin and that hers was midship and she felt the same thing. We still wonder if we would have felt the same thing on another ship like for example the Emerald or Royal Princess or the newer Holland ships. I also know that size is not necessarely a factor. So question is, how stable is the Zuiderdam compare to other cruise ships ? I was told she does have and use stabilizers.

[OceanTraveller4ever]

I cruised 26 days on the Zdam, and many days on all other Vista class ships.

 

I always book midship cabins and found the Zdam very smooth as all other Vista ships.

 

I even took the Zdam on a TA with high rolling waves in the Atlantic, and moreover in the Mediterranean sea.

 

No vibrations, or shocks felt at any time.

[Modern_Viking]

It is my understanding that the HAL vista class ships, like the Zuiderdam, and possibly the newer ships as well, have an active damping system to counteract vibration caused by the propellers / azipods. Without that system working, I understand there is considerable vibration at the aft end of the ship while she is underway.

 

In the older S-class and R-class ships, I don't notice huge amounts of propeller vibration, but there is noticeably more engine vibration over the engine room. I don't really mind it, but it is there. The Oosterdam is the only vista class ship I have sailed, but I didn't notice any vibration over the engine room area.

[rkacruiser]

I sailed on the Zuiderdam during her maiden season and she did have vibration issues at the stern. Sitting at a dining room table by the aft windows, my empty cup/saucer kept moving towards the table's edge due to the vibrations. As Modern Viking points out, a dampening system was installed on her and the other Vista Class ships when they were built, and on a subsequent Zuiderdam voyage, their was no vibration issue at the stern.

 

I had an aft Neptune Suite on Westerdam and at times there was an unusual motion to the ship at that location. I would describe it as a corkscrew motion. Not bad, but certainly "different". This was experienced as we sailed from Florida towards the Caribbean. On the return voyage to Florida from the Caribbean, I did not notice this. Thus, I do think wind and wave action was responsible for this.

 

Personally, I find all of HAL's ships excellent sea boats that can handle whatever sea conditions that they enounter. And, I have been on one where sea water was being flung over the Crow's Nest as the bow crashed into a trough.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Last spring we spent 21 days (again) on her and never felt anything.

[kjw869]

We just got off the same cruise, and never felt any type of vibration. It was our sixth cruise on the Zuiderdam. We've been on all the Vista and Signature ships many times, and the only constant vibration was on their newest ship--the Nieuw Amsterdam. In fact, except for a few hours of slightly rough seas, this 11-day cruise was one of the smoother runs.

 

We were invited to the "Behind the Scenes" tour and my granddaughter loved it. It's amazing to see all the machinery in the engine room.

[john2003]

I think the corkscrew motion may be because they are shallower draft than the classic liners. This can cause a bit of yaw under certain sea conditions, for example a following sea.

I don't think the stabilizers really change the vessel stability. They just damp the rolling action.

[Lady Chew]

I was also on this cruise, and have to point out that the seas were pretty rough during this cruise. We were also on for the previous cruise, and over the 21 days, we only had 3 or 4 days of smooth sailing ...

[Sailingpeace]

I was also on this cruise, and have to point out that the seas were pretty rough during this cruise. We were also on for the previous cruise, and over the 21 days, we only had 3 or 4 days of smooth sailing ...

 

It seemed to me that the seas we got were similar to other kind of rough seas we experienced sometimes in this region on some ohter ships , but this time we felt the mouvement more and I wonder if it is only because we were aft facing ( our first time, we usually sail mid or mid aft). Also , we were on deck four , and the grumbling vibrating noise was loud on some nights. Loud enough to be annoying and wake us up. But I agree we did get some very smooth days and nights probing that the ship can also be stable and quiet. We enjoy some rocking at night and are used to it. This time it was a different type of moving .

Edited March 1, 2016 by Sailingpeace

[Sodicoff]

Just got off today. We were struck by how much movement there was - especially in the dining room. We've been on other ships in rougher water and didn't feel as much rolling. I can remember (on another line, RC) that the captain announced that the next day there would be rough seas. So, he suggested that that night would be the time to take your sea sickness meds. In spite of the rough seas the boat was incredibly stable.

[janmcn]

Just got off that cruise too and were in the center aft cabins on Deck 5. Have had aft cabins on the Veendam too. The motion and vibration were due to the seas those nights...felt similar to what we have felt in our sailboat when the waves and swell were running a certain way. You will always feel more rolling in aft cabins but the views make up for it!

 

 

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[ellieanne]

I was on the Zuiderdam this past October. We hit some seriously rough seas passing through a Nor'Easter, so I felt we got a good test of the stabilizers and the ship's ability to weather the storm.

 

I had Cabin 1001 all the way forward on the lowest passenger deck. My parents had Cabin 4179, all the way aft, just on the center line of the ship. I noticed the motion of the ship, and one night I was rocked out of bed as the waves were lashing the window. We could definitely feel the motion, but it was not bad. It was consistent and even, with the exception of the big rock that sent us out of our beds. At the same time, my parents cabin was undisturbed and really felt very little motion. You could definitely see the motion of the ship if you looked out their window (the weather was so bad it was unsafe to go out on the balcony), and you could feel the up & down motion, but it was not bad in their cabin, most of a gentle and comfortable rocking.

 

My brother was at the Explorations Cafe during the start of the worst part of the storm/wind/waves and said it was nearly impossible to stay upright that high up.

 

Overall, I think the stability of the Zuiderdam is comparable to any other vessel in the fleet. If you're worried about motion, low down and mid-ship is your best bet. Stay away from the upper decks in rough seas and you'll be fine.

 

Of course, everyone notices motion differently, so take my advice/opinion with a grain of salt, your experience will be different, I am sure.

[chengkp75]

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I think the corkscrew motion may be because they are shallower draft than the classic liners. This can cause a bit of yaw under certain sea conditions, for example a following sea.

I don't think the stabilizers really change the vessel stability. They just damp the rolling action.

 

I believe the "active dampening" others mention is synchronization of the propellers in the two pods, so that the blades pass close to the hull at different times, reducing the harmonic effect of the two pressure waves striking the hull at the same time.

 

The "corkscrew" motion is what I call the "azipod shimmy", and is caused by two things. Azipods require a large flat surface of hull above the pods, and the water flow from the pod propellers rushing over this flat area leads to some directional instability. Couple this with the fact that the propellers are actually changing direction a couple of degrees, continuously, steering the ship, and you have this wash of water under the flat section of hull sweeping back and forth as the pods steer. This gives the side to side "azipod shimmy". Following seas add to this directional instability, which leads to the pods swinging back and forth more to maintain course, and the ultimate was the QM2, whose directional instability in following seas was so bad, she had to go back into drydock, and a vertical "skeg" was added between the pods to give some directional stability to the water flow.

 

As to rolling, cruise ships, with their high center of gravity, and hence high metacentric heights, tend to be known as "stiff" ships; hard to get rolling, but once rolling, the rolls are fast and short, which is uncomfortable. Therefore, stabilizers will be used to dampen the speed of the roll to a more comfortable speed, without changing the ship's stability.